Monthly Archives: February 2018

Decided to rub down and repaint the fenders on the bike. I had never been very fond of the gray/white color scheme and with the addition of the gloss black fuel tank it started to look out of place. Plus, the white paint was beginning to look in poor condition from being stored out in the elements for years.

Started with some 120-grit paper on the DA sander to take the old paint down to a good surface and provide a key.

Once rubbed back it was wiped clean. The paint is really very thick and has protected the metal well.

Gave the fenders each a couple coats of rust-protect gloss black paint and left them hanging to dry.

Between times I decided to see how the exhaust pipe would react to a bit of polish. As it turns out, really very well.

Moved the rear light to the back of the rear fender and reassembled everything. Just needs the handlebars rubbing back now and painting up (again, black).

It’s quite a difference from how the bike started out. This is a picture of it a few years back.

Next, I turned my attention to the lights. The magneto stator was meant to come with two windings, but only arrived with one. I ordered a replacement but that arrived with one winding and two wires soldered to the output. Utter nonsense.

Bought an extension piece to the stator that turned it from a horse-shoe shape into a full hoop with a second winding to generate power for lights.

At a fast idle it creates enough energy to light the 4.5W bulb in the headlight. I might end up doing what I did not want to and fitting an LED lamp to it instead, as it is significantly more efficient and should power from the generator acceptably from idle on up.

I got fed up of having a mismatched set of drives and a hole in the front of my TRS-80.

This prompted me to go find some software and find a way to transfer files to and from the TRS-80. Turns out running an emulator, using it to convert binary files to hex, transmitting them across serial and converting them back works well.
Also, on a plus note, have managed to get a word processor software working and printing properly. Real proportional print on the old daisy wheel printer!

It snowed. This prompted good “out in the garage” type work, as it was pleasantly cool.

I decided to try a bit of a fun project. Bolted an engine to my bicycle. A few things needed a bit of ingenuity- the sprocket at the back is clamped to the spokes between two discs of rubber. That pushed it too far out and didn’t let the brake work (hub brake on the rear wheel).

An afternoon of adjusting and tinkering and setting up and I got it to run.

50cc, 1.5hp.. geared to do about 20-25 tops. Decided it needed a speedometer. Ordered an old-fashioned mechanical one. Decided I did not like the face that was on it so redesigned it, in the style of 60’s BMC Smiths gauges.

Printed out rough draft and compared to the one it came with.

The gears also had no lubrication, instead relying upon the nylon being inherently slippery- that only works for a short while, so added some silicone grease to try extend the lifespan of them a little.

Mounted the face, decided it looked well enough. Painted up the center of the needle with silver paint.

Finish is acceptable. Not mirror but certainly shiny.

All finished up, looking better than it did.

Took a while to calibrate, and it’s far from accurate but it’s good enough for the job it’s doing. Also, pulled the trip reset dial off and blanked it, turning it into an odometer.

Painted the chain guard up, made a few adjustments to the way the chains route.

Bought a light set for it, the front lens was all hazy. Polished it up so it was a lot clearer.

All back together it looks a fair bit better.

All attached to the bike, adding to the look and usefulness.

Next up is an engine driven generator, switchable to the wheel generator. Might add a battery in there someplace but for now it’s all AC lights.